MOSCOW, June 17. /TASS/. The Board of Directors of the Bank of Russia may consider lowering the key rate to 14% per annum at its upcoming June 19 meeting, according to 21 of the 23 experts surveyed by TASS. In their forecasts, analysts noted that the June meeting decision could be influenced by a decline in annual inflation from 5.6% to 5.3% in May, as well as by the strengthening of the ruble.
At its previous meeting in April, the Bank of Russia cut the key rate for the third consecutive time since the beginning of the year, lowering it by 0.5 percentage points to 14.5% per annum. The regulator stated that domestic demand growth had moved closer to the economy's capacity to expand supply, while indicators of underlying price growth had yet to show a decline.
In early June, Bank of Russia Deputy Governor Alexey Zabotkin said that the regulator did not see additional room for key rate cuts. At the same time, he noted that the Board of Directors would assess the appropriateness of further reductions at upcoming meetings. He also stated that underlying inflation remains in the 4-5% range.
Rate-cut momentum losing steam
All 23 analysts surveyed by TASS believe that the Bank of Russia will lower the key rate on June 19. Only two analysts suggested that the cut could be smaller than 50 basis points, allowing for a reduction of just 25 basis points.
